1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates generally to gloves and a method for producing a glove and more particularly to a glove wherein all of the panels are designed to be seamed in-the-flat to their adjacent panels to provide a glove having a roomy but proper fit in both the fingers, thumb and the palm.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
While many forms of glove construction have existed over the years which provide a comfortable fit to the hand, none of these constructions lend themselves readily, if at all, to automatic seaming techniques. Historically glove making has required the use of skilled labor to manufacture and seam together the various complicated uneven panels of patterns which provide a comfortable fit. Most glove patterns now in use do not lend themselves well, if at all, to automatic seaming methods. Additionally, those glove patterns which can easily be automatically seamed do not provide a comfortable fit in all of the portions of the glove. Among the common glove patterns are the Clute Cut Pattern, Gunn Cut Pattern, Fourchette or Montpelier Pattern and the Flat Pattern.
The Clute Cut Pattern provides roominess in the finger for good fit by wrapping material around the back or dorsal part of the finger. The front or palmar panel of the finger is cut to a width that approximates the width of the finger plus desired clearances, while the back or dorsal panel of the finger must be cut to a width that approximates the width as well as two thicknesses of the finger plus desired clearances. The discrepancy in the widths of the dorsal finger panel and the palmar finger panel requires that the edges of the dorsal panel be carefully placed together with the edges of the palmar finger panel when it is sewn to the palmar finger panel. This alignment of the edges precludes automatic seaming of the finger panels and necessitates the use of skilled labor in assembling the glove.
The Gunn Cut Pattern provides roominess in the finger for good fit by wrapping material around the front of the finger rather than the back of the finger as is done in the Clute Cut Pattern. The Gunn Cut Pattern suffers from similar problems in assembly as the Clute Cut Pattern.
In the Fourchette or Montpelier Pattern roominess in the finger for good fit is provided by material being equally divided more or less between the palm, back and sides of the fingers. This pattern has many panels which must be seamed together to form the glove and thus precludes manufacture by seaming in-the-flat.
In the Flat Pattern the palmar and dorsal panels are the same size. Flat Pattern gloves are seamed together in-the-flat. The front and back panels of the Flat Pattern are each single whole pieces and are generally mirror images of one another. There is a disadvantage of this Flat Pattern in that it compromises the fit of the glove primarily between the fingers and the palm and back to achieve the best fit for each that the pattern will allow. The quality of the fit is limited by the fact that each half finger portion must have a width at its base and throughout its length that approximates half of the circumference of the finger plus desired clearance and seam widths in order to properly fit the finger. Thus the width of each panel at the base of the fingers approximates half of the sum of the circumference of each of the fingers plus desired clearances and eight seam widths, whereas the width of material required to cover the palm of the hand at the base of the fingers is only approximately the sum of the width of the fingers plus desired clearances and two seam widths. Therefore, if the Flat Pattern is used, the width of each panel at the base of the fingers includes much more material than is required to enclose the palm of back of the hand. This additional material gathers in the palm or back of the glove.
From the foregoing it should be readily apparent that although the Flat Pattern using a unitary dorsal panel and a mirror image unitary palmar panel, may be easily seamed in-the-flat (allowing for automatic seaming) the fit of the glove must be compromised by either having the palm of the glove fit too loosely if the fingers fit properly or by having the fingers fit too tightly if the palm fits properly.
One patent which is believed to be relevant to the fingers portion of the disclosed glove is the patent to Rinehart (U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,896 issued Apr. 7, 1987). Rinehart discloses finger portions to a glove which are designed to be seamed in-the-flat to each other and also seamed in-the-flat to the palm and back portions of a glove. Rinehart does not disclose thumb, palm, and back portions which may be seamed in-the-flat to provide an entire glove which may be seamed in-the-flat. The star-shaped pattern disclosed in Rinehart will result in less efficient material utilization than the disclosed invention when several panels are cut from a sheet of material. Additionally, the rectangular cut-out forming the line-junction edge will result in the line junction edge having small indentations concentration at each interior corner of the cut out when straightened. These concentrated indentations might result in gaps between the fingers and the remainder of the glove if the seaming of these pieces is not tightly controlled. These gaps would destroy the integrity of the glove, and result in a defective seam. These indentations require additional care in alignment of the adjacent seam edges to insure that the seam widths are maintained consistently throughout to their proper widths. This need to tight control of the seaming would complicate automated glove construction.
The prior glove patterns suffers from either requiring skilled labor to construct a well fitting glove or by comprising fit when the pattern allows for automated seaming.